This Argie team is amazing. If they don’t choke on Sunday, Messi will get his Int trophy,
At this rate, draw permitting, we will see Germany v Argentina IV in Moscow 2018.
“IF” sadly they have made something of a tradition of it :(.
Germany v Argentina IV : The Reckoning.
I thought that 2014 was going to be Messi’s last big shot at a WC because he’s going to start slowing down at some point. However, his passing is now like prime Pirlo, he might be able to transition into a different type player and make 2022.
Rooting for Messi all the way this weekend.
He tends to play in the AM/No 10 position behind the striker for country, as opppsed to a Wide Forward for Barca.
In the Copa America he has lined up as a Wide Forward (to the right side) all tournament. Though, really, he can go where ever he wants regardless of where he starts from.
So any predictions for tonight?
.
Colombia 3-1.
Tomorrow, Argentina 2-1.
I think we need to see the lineup that Pekerman puts up. It will show how motivated they are to play. I think the US will be motivated regardless.
I liked last night’s game, even with the whole fouling like crazy nonsense. It was fun to watch, and I think both teams had a lot of great passes/shots.
Don’t have a horse in the race anymore, but I’m hoping Chile can stand up to Argentina.
Imagine if Messi wins here and Ronaldo somehow drags Portugal to glory at the Euros. How will that impact the greatest of all time assessment?
Pelé still #1 no matter what
I’m not a soccer expert, but I’ve watched a lot of men’s and women’s games at WC and similar levels, and from what I’ve seen, I don’t agree at all. Plenty of times there will be a free kick from a fairly equivalent position that is hit over the goal, or right at the keeper, or into the wall, or what have you. If top men could routinely step up to that spot and hit a shot up over the wall and down into the top corner of the goal, why don’t they do so more often?
The Euros are a more impressive achievement, but I don’t think one tournament means all that much. I think people vastly overrate the WC contributions to a persons legacy.
A couple things. Free kick goals from that distance are not super uncommon. It’s a very dangerous position to give up a foul. In the men’s game the ball has to be struck much much harder because the goalies are more athletic and will stop little floated balls like that clip. The shots also need to have much more dip on them since men are taller and jump higher.
Have you ever seen a guy take a free kick at the same pace as that? Why not?
You misspelled Maradona.
I’m slightly confused by your double negatives and not quite sure what you’re asking. But as an example, in Belgium vs Hungary today, at around 35 minutes in the first half, Belgium had a free kick from right outside the box. It went up over the wall, back down to dip right under the bar… but it was a few feet in from the corner, and the keeper was able to make an excellent save on it. A well taken kick, and an excellent save. If it had been tucked right up into the corner, as both the Messi kick and the WWC kick were, it would have been unstoppable. But it wasn’t, and presumably not for lack of trying. Yes, the women’s game is slower and less athletic than the men’s game. No one is denying that. But in both games, a kick over a wall and down into the top corner of the goal is rare, impressive, and very very difficult to stop.
Women don’t have to kick it hard because their walls are smaller and their goalies less athletic. The shot that you’re touting as equal to the men was very very slow and didn’t have to dip very much. The former makes it more likely to be saved by the keeper and the latter more likely to be blocked by the wall. Men don’t hit little dainty chips for those reasons.
That you think they’re equivalent shots is really odd to me. If they don’t need to also strike the ball very hard and put a lot of dip on it, professional men can place it in the upper corner all the time. Watch any pregame warmup for evidence of that.
Sigh. Mrs Iggy is thrilled that Colombia won both matches against the US. And apparently I agreed to a bet that I don’t remember, at least according to her. (My español is good, but not perfect.) I wonder what I owe her. :eek:
Tonight… Argentina in a walk 4-1 is what I am predicting. Watch me somehow end up accidentally betting again and really end up getting myself in trouble. 
Some of these are pretty good (Amazing Free Kicks (Women's Football) - YouTube). Off topic though.
Argentina 3-2.
That depends what you mean by “equivalent”. There’s no point in trying to judge them as individual athletic feats both measured with the same absolute and objective standard. Kicks and plays in the woman’s game should be evaluated in the context of the women’s game and vice versa. Otherwise there’s no point in ever saying anything about women’s soccer because someone else will be able to point out how really truly awful all those players are, none of them would even make it in the 10th level of English football, etc, etc, etc.
Both goals are exceptional goals off of nearly perfect free kicks, with some obvious similarities (over the wall, into the corner). I think the Messi one is more impressive because of the angle. Can’t it just be left at that?
If you didn’t want to compare them, why is that exactly what you did in the post that started this discussion?